Last Movie You Watched

[locrian]

My latest movies from Netflix are 28 WEEKS LATER and 1408. I'll be watching them tomorrow night.

[Harry]

The only fault of the Barry Lyndon DVD is that the ratio is 4:3, for the rest a real classic.

[Kullervo]

wow, for once you're going to watch something that isn't absolute shit!

Or doesn't star Isabelle Huppert.

[Harry]

Or doesn't star Isabelle Huppert.

Have you anything against the acting qualities of Isabelle Huppert, then please let me know my friend.

[Kullervo]

Have you anything against the acting qualities of Isabelle Huppert, then please let me know my friend.

No, I've never seen any of her films. I just note her ubiquity. 

[71 dB]

The only fault of the Barry Lyndon DVD is that the ratio is 4:3, for the rest a real classic.

Kubrick liked aspect ratio 4:3. The movies were shown in theatres in widescreen format using open matte technique. You are not missing anything, you see everything that was filmed.

[Harry]

Kubrick liked aspect ratio 4:3. The movies were shown in theatres in widescreen format using open matte technique. You are not missing anything, you see everything that was filmed.

Right, thanks Poju, I did not know that. the film looks surprisingly good, on my new LCD screen, sharp detail.

[Drasko]

What parts did you like best? For those not in the know, Lang borrowed Griffith's and Keaton's concept of plotting different theme-related stories taking place at various epochs. I agree it's unequal. But the scenery (decors, lighting) are often impressive.

The parts I didn't like much were arabian and chinese stories. Yes, the decors are impressive indeed but more as show off for Ufa budgets at that time (before Lang broke them with Metropolis) than for anything Lang actually acomplished within them - run of the mill oriental fantasies, forgettable. The venetian story is the one I did like, probably because not even Ufa budgets could re-create Venice in studio here he had to resort to using silhouettes and lighting to to evoke the setting and it works much better, much more creative, also this one is actually nice little thriller, tightly plotted (unlike the prosaic plots of other two) and neatly executed, fortelling where Lang's greatest strength will be imo (Mabuse, M, Fury, The Big Heat).
But the most interesting part is the framing story where the gothic theme/setting allows for some highly impressive cinematography (the plasticity of the wall, the contrast of those ascending stairs, the fire in the village) which exhibits some expressionistic atributes (contrasts, lighting. atmosphere) but I have to say that I fail to see the film as expressionistic in sum of its parts. Also the framing story sports excellent performance by Bernhard Goetzke in title role (he gets reduced to vignettes in the rest), and I can see probability that Bergman took from here the general concept of death (and visuals to some extent) as somewhat sympathetic character from it but there any further resemblance ends, I think. In this one Lang even manages to deliver some social comment through the characters of town officials and even some humor (when girl is seeking for the replacement) which is largely absent anywhere else.

I'm curious, now: I've never seen a tinted version of Caligari. I've seen this film a few times in the past 35 years, always in B&W.

Cabinet of Dr.Caligari was originally tinted, at least according to these technical details....

Production: Decla Filmgellschaft (Berlin); black and white, 35mm, silent, originally tinted in green, brown, and steely-blue; length: 4682 feet. Released February 1920, Berlin. Filmed Winter 1919 in Decla studios; cost $18,000.

...but that I think only means that director intended it to be tinted and that copies used for original theatrical release were tinted (read somewhere that 85% of all silents were originally tinted).
I'm not technicaly knowledgeable in any sense (so this might be completely wrong) but I believe that tinting is process that has to be aplied to each and every copy of the film separately, so it's quite possible that copy you saw just wasn't tinted. Though the question of tinting is probably better adressed to someone at your local cinematheque, they should know much more on the subject.

[SonicMan46]

Tonight, in honor of the wonderful actress, Deborah Kerr, who just passed away a few days ago:

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) w/ Robert Mitchum (also paired together in The Sundowners) - always made a beautiful nun!

King Solomon's Mines (1950) w/ Stewart Granger - won 2 Oscars, one for best cinematography (likely because of her RED hair!  )!

 

[EmpNapoleon]

Who the @#$# is Jackson Pollock   I thought this was a good documentary.

On one side, forensic science was able to match fingerprints.  On the other side, art "experts" thought that the main character's painting didn't "dance or sing" like a Pollock.

Authenticity is more important than quality for the rich who buy paintings.  I used to always have to know the painter before I enjoyed the painting.  Why?  Social reasons.

[EmpNapoleon]

I just made a Pollock on windows paintshop.

[sidoze]

very good. Will see Wajda's Danton later in the month.

[Shrunk]

Air Guitar Nation

All I can say is: See this one!

It starts out looking like it will just be a freak show, but before you know it you find you're actually caring about the subjects, and what happens to them.  Pure fun from start to finish.

[Lilas Pastia]

Thanks for the detail, Milos!

Yesterday, a return visit to Rocco e suoi fratelli by Visconti.

I think it's the director's most interesting film and an outright masterpiece. Blends neo-realism, verismo melodrama and greek tragedy superbly (based on Dostoievsky's Idiot.

Magnificent acting by a great cast (Annie Girardot, Katina Paxinou, Renato Salvatori, Nino Castelnuovo). Delon's portrayal of Rocco is simply devastating.

[Kullervo]

very good. Will see Wajda's Danton later in the month.

Loved that one

[sidoze]

Loved that one

do you mean the one I watched or the one I said I will watch?

[Drasko]

Pudovkin's Chess Fever -- wonderful!

I'm inclined to agree, by the moment he glued the poster to the guys back I was in stitches and Capablanca is such a smooth character.

[sidoze]

I'm inclined to agree, by the moment he glued the poster to the guys back I was in stitches and Capablanca is such a smooth character.

haha yeah! and the part when he walks past the chess shop, rounds the corner, then the motion is played backwards and he's sucked back in. great!
time to go get absolutely pissed now. come on England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[locrian]

Somehow when sidoze posts these days, I have this great lust for England.

[Solitary Wanderer]

Watched this last night.

Excellent movie showing how one, seemingly minor act in one part of the world , can have an impact on many people far away. The three stories were all bleak, but it was compelling viewing; well filmed and well acted.